By Ruth Abbey Gita-Carlos | Philippine News Agency
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Friday oversaw the distribution of government assistance during his visit to the Pampanga Food Security Complex (PFSC) in Lubao, Pampanga.
President Marcos Jr. inspected the newly completed PFSC, along with Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., National Food Authority (NFA) Administrator Larry Lacson, former president and Pampanga 2nd District Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and Pampanga Gov. Lilia Pineda.
Designed as a one-stop postharvest service center, the P465.76-million PFSC provides farmer accreditation, “palay” procurement and receiving services, drying, milling, storage, inventory management, packaging, and distribution.
The integrated rice processing facility is expected to benefit around 30,995 rice farmers cultivating 42,994 hectares of rice-producing land across Pampanga.
It has a projected annual output of 136,800 bags of dry palay and 78,000 bags of milled rice, with each bag weighing 50 kilos.
It also features two warehouses with a combined floor area of 5,000 square meters.
Warehouse 1 can store up to 83,000 bags of milled rice, while Warehouse 2 has a capacity of 45,000 bags of dry palay.
The drying facility has six 6-ton mechanical dryers and two 12-ton mechanical dryers, capable of drying up to 1,200 bags of palay daily.
A 5,000-square-meter drying pavement can accommodate approximately 1,400 bags of wet palay, while the rice mill has a processing capacity of four to five tons per hour, with an estimated milling recovery rate of 65%.
Sec. Laurel said the strategic location of the food security complex makes it vital for the country’s food security requirements.
He added that the facility simplifies postharvest operations for farmers, improves efficiency, and enhances food safety.
“More or less, we’re more ready than ever this harvest season,” Sec. Laurel told reporters, expressing confidence that the facility will strengthen the government’s palay procurement and postharvest operations ahead of the September harvest.
“The data [and] the facts will show that [Marcos Jr.] admin has provided the most facilities and machineries for the modernization of the agriculture,” he added.
To further expand the facility’s capacity, around P240 million has been allocated under the General Appropriations Act and through the efforts of Arroyo for the construction of two additional warehouses.
Once completed, the new warehouses will accommodate an additional 112,500 bags of milled rice and 75,000 bags of palay, significantly increasing the PFSC’s storage capacity and further enhancing the province’s food security efforts.
During the visit, Marcos also led the distribution of P17.7 million in Sustainable Livelihood Program assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to 21 SLP associations representing 630 members.
Each association received grants ranging from P600,000 to P900,000, while individual farmers received P3,000 each under the DSWD’s Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) program.
Marcos Jr. also met with representatives of 11 farmers’ cooperatives and associations, whose members are among the beneficiaries of Pampanga’s palay procurement program and the PFSC’s post-harvest services.
